The present invention relates generally to flat mail conveying, handling, sorting, and stacking systems, and more particularly to a new and improved implement for use in connection with flat mail conveying, handling, sorting, and stacking systems wherein, when flat mail articles, pieces, or units, such as, for example, envelopes, letters, newspapers, catalogs, magazines, greeting cards, post cards, fliers, and the like, are delivered to a predetermined sorting or storage container, bin, or tub destination, the implement will be activated or moved toward, or be disposed in, a particular orientation so as to effectively prevent an erroneous or misdirected discharge of the flat mail articles, units, or pieces from the system conveying structure such that jamming of the system occurs, or alternatively, the conveyed mail articles, pieces, or units are no longer in their original predetermined sorted order which is indispensable in connection with current automatic processing and sequenced delivery of mail pieces or units to recipients.
In automatic flat mail conveying, handling, sorting, and stacking systems, flat mail articles, pieces, or units, such as, for example, envelopes, letters, newspapers, catalogs, magazines, greeting cards, post cards, fliers, and the like, are initially conveyed by means of a suitable conveyor belt system, they are subsequently scanned, such as, for example, by means of a suitable bar code reader (BCR) or an optical character recognition (OCR) reader so as to be sorted, such as, for example, by means of destination address information, and conveyed further toward predetermined sorting or storage containers, bins, or tubs. In accordance with current automatic processing and sequenced delivery systems for delivering mail pieces or units to recipients in accordance with the serial order of street delivery addresses, it is imperative that the particular flat mail articles, pieces, or units of mail are not only conveyed to and deposited within the correct sorting or storage container, bin, or tub, but in addition, that the flat mail articles, pieces, or units disposed within a particular sorting or storage container, bin, or tub be disposed and retained in a particular order corresponding to the delivery address sequence.
In connection with one type of system used in connection with the deposition of flat mail articles, pieces, or units into predetermined sorting or storage containers, bins, or tubs, the containers, bins, or tubs are disposed beneath a drop-box which has a movable platen member operatively associated therewith and upon which a plurality of flat mail articles, pieces, or units are initially collected or accumulated in preparation for preparing a stack of the flat mail articles, pieces, or units for subsequent deposition within the particular sorting or storage container, bin, or tub. When a predetermined amount or number of flat mail articles, pieces, or units have been collected or accumulated upon the movable platen of the drop-box, the platen is actuated so as to be effectively withdrawn from its position beneath the collected or accumulated articles, units, or pieces of flat mail piled or stacked upon the platen whereby the pile or stack of collected or accumulated articles, pieces or units of mail drops vertically downwardly in effect as a single entity into the sorting or storage container, bin, or tub so as to be disposed in a stacked or piled array within the particular sorting or storage container, bin, or tub.
Sometimes, during the course of the high-speed processing and conveyance of the various flat mail articles, pieces, or units, it is necessary or more efficient for the overall operation of the conveying and sorting system to deposit a particular article, piece, or unit of flat mail directly into the sorting or storage container without first collecting or accumulating the flat mail articles, pieces, or units upon the movable platen operatively associated with the drop-box. In other words, the particular article, piece, or unit of flat mail will be conveyed directly from the conveying mechanism, through the drop-box, and into the particular sorting or storage container, bin, or tub, thereby in effect, bypassing the drop-box. Under such circumstances, however, it has been experienced that one or more of the flat mail articles, pieces, or units, in lieu of actually being deposited into the sorting or storage container, bin, or tub, will sometimes become jammed within the track or slot defined within the drop-box framework and along which the platen moves when the same is being moved from its OPENED position to its CLOSED position, or alternatively, the particular article, piece, or unit or flat mail will sometimes be discharged through the slot or space defined between the bottom of the drop-box framework and the upper end of the sorting or storage container, bin, or tub. In either case, the efficient, orderly conveyance and stacking of the flat articles, pieces, or units of mail is operationally disrupted. In the first case, if the particular article, unit, or piece of flat mail becomes jammed, then operation of the conveying and handling system must be shut down until the jammed flat mail article, piece, or unit is able to be removed and placed in its proper order within the stack of flat mail articles, pieces, or units disposed within the sorting or storage container, bin, or tub. In the second case, operation of the conveying and handling system must likewise be shut down, and the particular article, piece, or unit of flat mail must be retrieved and likewise placed in its proper order within the stack of flat mail articles, units, or pieces disposed within the sorting or storage container, bin, or tub. In either case, the efficiency of the conveying and handling system, and the continuous operation of the same, has been compromised.
A need therefore exists in the art for a new and improved implement for use in connection with a drop-box framework mechanism which is adapted to be mounted or disposed above a flat mail sorting or storage container, bin, or tub wherein, in connection with those instances in which the platen operatively associated with the drop-box is disposed at its OPENED position so as to permit flat mail articles, pieces, or units to be directly conveyed through the drop-box and into sorting or storage container, bin, or tub, without the flat mail articles, pieces, or units being initially collected or accumulated in a stack or pile upon the platen above the sorting or storage container, bin, or tub, some means must be provided in order to effectively prevent the conveyed flat mail articles, pieces, or units from becoming jammed within the slot defined within the drop-box framework along which the platen is movable between its OPENED and CLOSED positions, as well as to effectively prevent the conveyed flat mail articles, pieces, or units from being conveyed through the slot or opening defined between the bottom of the drop-box framework and the upper end of the sorting or storage container, bin, or tub.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a new and improved movable structure which is operatively associated with a drop-box framework mechanism or system, and a sorting or storage container, bin, or tub, so as to operatively cooperate with the drop-box framework mechanism and system, and the movable platen member thereof, such that flat mail articles, pieces, or units can be conveyed and deposited within a predetermined flat mail sorting or storage container, bin, or tub without encountering any operational difficulties.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a new and improved movable structure which is operatively associated with a drop-box framework mechanism or system, and a sorting or storage container, bin, or tub, so as to operatively cooperate with the drop-box framework mechanism and system, and the movable platen member thereof, such that flat mail articles, pieces, or units can be conveyed and deposited within a predetermined flat mail sorting or storage container, bin, or tub without encountering any operational difficulties and thereby overcome the various operational disadvantages characteristic of conventional PRIOR ART flat mail article handling, sorting, and stacking systems.
An additional object of the present invention is to provide a new and improved movable structure which is operatively associated with a drop-box framework mechanism or system, and a sorting or storage container, bin, or tub, so as to operatively cooperate with the drop-box and the movable platen member thereof such that when the platen member is moved, relative to the drop-box, to its OPENED position, the movable structure will be disposed at a position so as to effectively prevent the jamming or misdirection of flat mail articles, pieces, or units being conveyed toward and into the sorting or storage container, bin, or tub.
A further object of the present invention is to provide a new and improved movable structure which is operatively associated with a drop-box framework mechanism or system, and a sorting or storage container, bin, or tub, so as to operatively cooperate with the drop-box and the movable platen member thereof such that when the platen member is moved, relative to the drop-box, to its OPENED position, the movable structure will be disposed at a position so as to effectively prevent the jamming or misdirection of flat mail articles, pieces, or units being conveyed toward and into the sorting or storage container, bin, or tub, and yet will not interfere with the operation of the movable platen member so as to permit the movable platen member to be moved to its CLOSED position and thereby operatively cooperate with the drop-box framework mechanism or system so as to collect and accumulate flat mail articles, pieces, or units thereon in a piled or stacked mode prior to the dropped deposition of the same into the operatively associated sorting or storage container, bin, or tub.
A last object of the present invention is to provide a new and improved movable structure which is operatively associated with a drop-box framework mechanism or system, and a sorting or storage container, bin, or tub, so as to operatively cooperate with the drop-box and the movable platen member thereof such that when the platen member is moved, relative to the drop-box, to its OPENED position, the movable structure will be disposed at a position so as to effectively prevent the jamming of any flat mail articles, pieces, or units within the track or slot defined within the drop-box framework mechanism or system along which the platen member is movable, or to similarly effectively prevent the misdirection of any flat mail articles, pieces, or units through the space or slot defined between the bottom of the drop-box mechanism or system and the upper end of the sorting or storage container, bin, or tub.
The foregoing and other objectives are achieved in accordance with the teachings and principles of the present invention through the provision of a new and improved structure which comprises a plurality of movable fingers which are either spring-biased or gravitationally moved between upper nested positions and lower deployed positions. The fingers are mounted within a housing which forms an integral part of a drop-box framework mechanism or system. A platen member is movably mounted upon the drop-box framework mechanism or system between a first OPENED position at which the drop-box framework is open so as to permit flat mail articles, pieces, or units to flow therethrough and into an operatively associated sorting or storage container, bin, or tub, and a second CLOSED position at which the platen member is disposed above the sorting or storage container, bin, or tub so as to close the drop-box framework and thereby permit flat mail articles, pieces, or units to be collected and accumulated upon the platen member in preparation for their deposition into the sorting or storage container, bin, or tub as a stacked or piled entity. When the platen member is disposed at its OPENED position, the movable fingers move downwardly to their deployed positions at which the fingers effectively block the track or slot defined within a side wall of the drop-box framework mechanism and within which the platen member is movable between its OPENED and CLOSED positions so that the flat mail articles, pieces, or units, which are being conveyed through the drop-box framework mechanism in a by-pass mode, are effectively prevented from becoming jammed within the platen member track or slot. At the same time, the fingers also block the slot or space defined between the bottom portion of the drop-box framework mechanism and the upper end portion of the sorting or storage container, bin, or tub, so that the flat mail articles, pieces, or units are effectively prevented from being conducted through the slot or space defined between the bottom of the drop-box framework mechanism and the upper end portion of the sorting or storgage container, bin, or tub. In either case, continuous operation of the flat mail article sorting, handling, and stacking operations is achieved, and the specific serial order, in which the flat mail articles, pieces, or units were conveyed, is preserved so as to facilitate automatic processing and delivery sequence of the flat mail articles, pieces, or units to their respective destinations and recipients. When the platen member is movable to the CLOSED position, the platen member will engage the movable fingers and bias the same upwardly so that the platen member may be readily moved to its CLOSED position so as to achieve its flat mail article collection and accumulation mode.